Children's Home run by United Children's Services Limited in Nottinghamshire

Inspection report children‟s home: SC488961 1 SC488961 Registered provider: United Children’s Services Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is run by an independent provider. It is registered with Ofsted to work with up to five children and young people of both genders, aged between eight and 18. Children who are admitted to the home will all have been assessed as presenting emotional, behavioural or educational difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 11 to 12 November 2019

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: SC488961 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/05/2018 Full Good 29/01/2018 Interim Improved effectiveness 08/05/2017 Full Good 07/11/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children‟s home: SC488961 3

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child are kept up to date.

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Requirement Due date

This is with reference to ensuring that children’s care plans and risk assessments are updated when there is a change in need or risk.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good-quality care and make good progress. This is because they are looked after by an experienced and skilled staff team which is committed to improving the lives of children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy and feel safe. They have positive relationships with staff who they trust. Staff understand how children’s previous experiences have affected their emotional well-being and use this understanding to inform the care provided. Children know that staff will not give up on them. A social worker commented that staff show children ‘unconditional love’, that children know that staff will not reject them, and that children have a ‘sense of belonging’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are central to decision-making about their lives and the running of the home. They know that staff listen to them. This helps them to feel valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s progress in education is variable. Some children have made excellent progress during the last year. However, some children’s engagement in education has been disrupted by events which have affected their emotional well-being. Staff have continued to support children during these difficult times and have advocated strongly to maintain children’s education placements. The registered manager has been instrumental in challenging barriers to children’s progress in education. She has worked closely with a child’s placing authority and provided evidence to overturn decisions made about the Inspection report children‟s home: SC488961 4 child’s educational needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work hard to ensure that children can have good life experiences and opportunities to try new activities. Staff are innovative in arranging new experiences for children. For example, some children expressed an interest in going abroad for their holiday but had many reservations about this. Staff worked hard with children to inform them about each stage of the journey and gave children the opportunity to talk about their fears. As a result, the children had an excellent holiday. These experiences have helped to build up children’s confidence and social skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to maintain contact with their families, friends and people who are important to them. Children are encouraged to make friends. Some children have taken their friends on trips with them and have had sleepovers at their friends’ homes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s care records are detailed and inform staff practice. However, records are not always updated to reflect current needs and risks. Staff know and understand children very well, and communication between staff is good. However, all records need to be kept up to date to ensure that new staff have accurate information about how to meet children’s current needs and risks.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff are committed to ensuring that children learn how to keep themselves safe. Staff understand how children’s emotional well-being and behaviours have been affected by previous childhood experiences. Staff work closely with a range of professionals. This informs children’s risk-management plans. As a result, children become safer and they feel safe.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children acquire the skills to keep themselves safe and understand the risks they may face in the community. Because children’s risk-taking behaviours reduce, their opportunities to enjoy everyday life experiences increase.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff are good at managing children’s behaviours. Staff are well trained and have a very good understanding of why children behave the way they do. The number of incidents involving the use of physical intervention reduce over time.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff follow procedures and work closely with partner agencies when a child goes missing. However, children rarely go missing. For some, this is significant progress.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Safe recruitment practices help to protect children from harm. Managers do not rush recruitment decisions because they understand that appointing the right person is far more important than filling staff vacancies.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

There have been changes in management and staffing since the last inspection, but this has not affected the quality of care children receive. A new manager was appointed in Inspection report children‟s home: SC488961 5 January 2019 and has been registered with Ofsted. She has several years’ experience of working in children’s homes and is suitably qualified.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager provides excellent leadership and clear direction. She has created a culture in which the whole team has high aspirations for children. The registered manager and staff are very good at challenging other agencies to ensure that children receive the support that they need. Partnership working is excellent. Social workers said communication from the staff team is excellent. A social worker said that staff are ‘brilliant’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff are full of praise for the registered manager and her inclusive management style. Staff say she is approachable and supportive. Staff feel valued and listened to. They are supported to develop their skills and experience. Staff receive good-quality supervision.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

There is a real commitment to staff training. Training is responsive to children’s emerging needs. Six staff have the level 3 qualification and two staff are currently enrolled on the level 3 qualification. The registered manager is monitoring staff’s progress to ensure that they meet their target dates for completion of the level 3 qualification.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Management monitoring is very good. The registered manager is committed to developing new systems to monitor children’s progress. Quality assurance systems ensure that children’s views are obtained, understood and acted on when appropriate. For example, children meet with their keyworkers each month and complete a feedback questionnaire. This information is then discussed in staff team meetings and actioned where appropriate. Children know that their views are taken seriously. This helps them to build up trust in staff.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the differences made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and young people and their families. In addition, the inspectors have tried to understand what the children’s home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people whom it is trying to help, protect and look after.

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Information about this inspection

Using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’, this inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. Inspection report children‟s home: SC488961 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: United Children’s Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Old Coach House, Drinsey Nook, Lincoln, Lincolnshire LN1 2JJ

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Inspector(s)

Katarina Djordjevic, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC488961 7 achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: http://www.gov.uk/ofsted

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